Posts by Andy Bratton
Let’s Move
I can’t get out of my head the whole idea of constant improvement. Some may refer to it as being a lifelong learner. I have a friend whose next-door neighbor was at a point in his life where he had all the money he needed and decided to start doing jobs he thought would be interesting. He got a job at a fast food restaurant because he always thought he would be good with customers. He left that job and How COVID has affected us
Happy Greatest Commandment Day!
It’s Valentine’s Day, so of course I need to write my article about love. In 1 John 4:8, it says that “God is love.” It says that if you don’t love you don’t know God. That seems pretty straightforward. Jesus said that people will know we are his disciples by how we love one another (John 13:35). Jesus also said, “Greater love has no man than this, that he lay down his life for his friend” (John 15:13). When asked about what the greatest commandment was, Jesus answered, “Love How COVID has affected us
Wait…God Hates?
I read a disturbing Psalm this week during my daily Bible reading. It said some things that I never want to associate with God. At the top of the Psalm, it simply says, “For the choir director: A psalm of David, to be accompanied by the flute.” There is no description of when David would have written it and what context in which he would have written it. It starts as a cry for help. “O Lord, hear me as How COVID has affected us
Margin
As Christians, we are commanded to love. It’s not always easy to love others through the hurt and challenges. God’s love serves as the ultimate example, the purest expression of selflessness. It is a love that knows no bounds, embracing us in our flaws and imperfections. Love is not passive; it is an active choice. In choosing to love, we align ourselves with a force that has the power to heal wounds, bridge divides, and bring light into the darkest How COVID has affected us
Be Strong and Courageous
During a recent mission trip to the Dominican Republic, I was introduced to Moise (not sure I am spelling his name correctly). He grew up in Haiti and moved to the Dominican I think in his late twenties. He was planted by GO ministries as a pastor to a small community that is part Dominican residents and part Haitian refugees. He has a school that last year had 30+ students and this year has 5. We walked the neighborhood and prayed for the How COVID has affected us
Trust the amplifier
Sunday, during first service, my voice started to leave me. If you were here or watching online, you heard me comment about it. Fortunately, my wife gave me some hot tea before second service and things were fine. The problem I have is that in my mind I don’t think you can hear me and so I talk louder. If I just talked and allowed the sound guys to amplify my voice I could probably avoid the whole problem. When How COVID has affected us
Fall into Discipleship
You probably could have guessed this was coming as the subject of my article this week. School just started back last week. Ephraim is having his kickoff tonight for the youth group. Sara is getting ready for WASP and Octane to fire back up. And yes, we have programs for adults, as well. I call it our discipleship rhythm. And, believe it or not, we don’t offer these things just to fill your calendar or because we don’t have anything else to do. I’m not trying How COVID has affected us
It’s Summer
What’s your plan? Every year summer comes around and we love it! The clear waters of the Manistee River or Torch Lake. Local small-town festivals and craft fairs are within driving distance. And northern Michigan weather is the best in the summer. We can warm up nicely during the day and then enjoy a bonfire at night (if Smoky Bear says it’s okay). However, if we aren’t careful, summer can slide right by us if we don’t map out what our summer plans look like. The same How COVID has affected us
Say Cheese(y)
When I got married there was one thing my wife made sure we did every six months, whether I wanted to or not and whether we could afford it. We were going to the dentist. Interestingly, she doesn’t like going to the dentist, and I don’t mind going except for the times in our life when we didn’t have dental insurance. Most of those visits were uneventful. But there has been an occasion when we needed further work than just How COVID has affected us
A better Story
I attended a conference for preachers a month or so ago and one of the speakers shared a message from John 11 that really affected how I think about a sermon, but more importantly about how I think about the lessons learned from the raising of Lazarus. I shared these thoughts with a group of our leaders before a strategy session a few weeks ago. In John chapter 11 we read about the raising of Lazarus from the dead. Jesus How COVID has affected us